Puducherry: Puducherry Lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi refuted claims by former MP Ramadass that she showed no interest in holding local body polls and said that the matter is pending with the Chief Minister, and not with the office of the Lt Governor.
Lashing out at the former MP for falsely accusing her on the issue, Ms Bedi said, "This matter of rural body elections is pending with the Chief Minister for long and he has been stonewalling it for all these several months despite clear directions from the Supreme Court." She also said that Mr Ramadass was making allegations against her without checking the facts and sought an apology from him.
The Lt Governor also said that in the absence of local bodies, the Union Territory was losing several grants from the central government. "I have been emphasising the need for rural leadership to take up their village issues. They will be eligible for grants which they are not getting because of the absence of local bodies. The Chief Minister is defying the SC timelines and directions," alleged the Lt Governor.
Mr Ramadass had accused Ms Bedi for allegedly showing no interest in conducting local body polls and accused her of showing interest only in matters which gain public attention.
